Hussein Fancy is assistant professor of history at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
"Fancy has put forward a deeply learned and beautifully woven
argument, in a thought-provoking and discomforting study that
constitutes a major contribution to the history of medieval
Spain."-- "American Historical Review"
"The Mercenary Mediterranean fundamentally advances our
understanding of soldiers recruited from North Africa to fight for
the Crown of Aragon. More than just another example of
border-crossing or the malleability of religious identity, the case
of the jenets demonstrates the paradoxes and strangeness of
medieval warfare and faith. Fancy argues convincingly that
religion, far from being shoved aside by other factors, remains
central to comprehending warfare, cultural conflict, cultural
rapprochement and ideas of empire. This is among the most important
and thought-provoking books on Mediterranean and Iberian history of
recent years."-- "Paul Freedman, Yale University"
"The Mercenary Mediterranean is an ambitious and sophisticated
book, elegantly written and thoughtfully conceptualized, that
propels Hussein Fancy to the front ranks of scholars working on the
medieval Crown of Aragon."-- "Journal of Religion and Violence"
"Fancy had the linguistic skills (Latin, Spanish, Catalan, Arabic),
the time, and the interest to investigate a seemingly obscure
subject that informs us both about medieval attitudes toward
multi-culturalism and the modern debate over how to integrate
Muslim minorities."
-- "Sehepunkte"
"Fancy's remarkable deployment of archival material from the
Archivo de la Corona de Arag�n, Arabic chronicle sources, and other
North African material makes The Mercenary Mediterranean a superb
contribution to our understanding of the unexplored relationships
between the jenets, or Muslim mercenaries, and the Crown of Aragon.
With unfailing insightfulness, Fancy unravels the complex world of
relations between Islam and Christianity, the Crown of Aragon and
North African polities, and the role of warfare in binding and
separating the medieval Western Mediterranean world. This is a
major scholarly achievement."-- "Teo Ruiz, University of
California, Los Angeles"
"Fascinating. . . . The Mercenary Mediterranean has made a
remarkable number of major contributions . . . and offers valuable
lessons for any scholar interested in medieval ethno-religious
relations, royal/imperial authority, or the political history of
the western Mediterranean."-- "Bulletin for Spanish and Portuguese
Historical Studies"
"Like David Nirenberg's now-classic Communities of Violence and
Olivia Remie Constable's vital work in this area, The Mercenary
Mediterranean will be of immense importance to historians of
medieval Iberia. Original and intellectually ambitious, this book
will likely become a landmark for scholars in the field, placing
Fancy at the forefront of the new generation of Mediterraneanists
working in medieval literary and cultural studies."-- "Vincent
Barletta, Stanford University"
"This is an engaging and far-ranging book, written in lively and
evocative prose, which brings the worlds of the jenets to life; it
will appeal to both scholars and students, whether specialists in
the history of the medieval Spains, or not. . . . Exemplary. . . .
A ripping tale."-- "Mediterranean Historical Review"
"This is an exhilarating and eminently readable book. . . . It
seems astonishing that the study of mere jenets should powerfully
influence the way we look at Spanish conflicts in the later Middle
Ages, but this is the effect of Fancy's book. . . . Fancy's
brilliant exploration of the jenet phenomenon reinforces this
picture of complex motivation and argues against simple
denunciations of self-interest. Far more important, however, is the
way in which this book leads us to reflect on the contradictions
and complexities of the struggle in the Iberian Peninsula in the
later Middle Ages."-- "Speculum"
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